bc her clashing ideas of home vs. "getting into the new" leads her down a toxic route that i'm not sure was necessary to address her problem. but more than that,,, i think the writers started to get confused on who they wanted nini to be.
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she starts the season hesitating to tell ricky about yac. she's already made up her mind - bc why would she refuse when this is smth she didn't even believe she could get into,,, and since she has gotten into it, that means it's meant to be - but her feelings from s1 finale remain the same. she loves ricky,,, doesn't want to leave him just when their relationship is starting afresh,,,, so how could she possibly tell him about yac? what ricky says later is a valid point too - she might have been afraid that the situation brought too much deja vu to when she was leaving for camp and ricky responded poorly. imo tho,,, yeah, her not telling ricky properly was an innocent mistake born out of nerves,, uncertainty, and guilt + pressure. when ricky called her his home,,, she couldn't help but think about how she was going to abandon him. what would that say about her?
then she actually goes to yac and suddenly the new outlet for her voice wasn't as freeing as she thought,,, instead she feels more out of place and confined. but there's also how she was feeling left out from her friends who were at the auditions. she answers her question in "out of the old" (("if no one knew my name, would my wildest dreams feel like home" no lmao))
the dull atmosphere of her new school + the feeling of loneliness motivates her to get out of there as soon as she had an excuse - valentine's day.
((the best part has an important role in her arc but i'll leave that for part 3))
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she delays going back in episode 4,,, and tho she talks to ricky about being honest about his feelings,,, it's rly obvious that she wanted him to say smth that would validate her feelings of wanting to leave yac and return home. it's here when she starts wondering that maybesalt lake wasn't the problem after all. and the very thought confuses her bc she's been through this debate in her head since out of the old. she's finally "into the new",,, but instead of pushing her forward,, it's making her second guess what she wants or what she wanted in the first place. that's why she asks herself if she's taking everything for granted bc supposedly,, she is where she wanted to be last season.
